A continued and vexing lack of money for Colorado’s roads is driving a debate over the funding of some state offices that is as regrettable as it is understandable.

The question is whether a fee that you pay when applying for a driver’s license should cover the operation of state Department of Motor Vehicles offices, or if some of the money should be used to maintain Colorado roads and highways.

We think funding the DMV offices through those fees makes sense, but we share the frustration of transportation advocates who argue that a measure at the statehouse to no longer cover roads only dilutes the already anemic FASTER funds dedicated to fixing Colorado’s bridges and roads.

Originally, the fees covered DMV operations. But for the last several years, the legislature has diverted some of the money to the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF) that supports road maintenance and construction.

The practice, in flush years, has been to divert licensing fees to HUTF and support the DMV from the general fund. In lean years, the fees have gone to operate the offices.

Last year, the legislature passed FASTER, which increased vehicle registration fees in order to raise about $250 million each year for road maintenance. Even that sum was inadequate, as a panel of experts had found that Colorado’s roads and bridges needed as much as $1.5 billion a year for proper maintenance.

Construction contractors who would benefit from renewed road maintenance decry siphoning away the expected $20 million a year from the HUTF.

Lawmakers this week are expected to debate two amendments to the bill that would restore funding to roads in either two or four years.

As much as we want to see more funding for transportation, we see no reason why the licensing fees shouldn’t remain with the DMV offices for now. That said, a two-year sunset clause seems reasonable, and gives lawmakers a chance to revisit the issue soon.

Colorado lawmakers have been forced to patch up budgets with billion-dollar shortfalls in recent years, and, as we note in the editorial below, there are no easy answers left.

When revenue bounces back, we’ll again urge lawmakers to dedicate themselves to finding dependable and adequate revenue for roads.